A quintet of vignettes based on short stories by Bohumil Hrabal: an eventful trip to the motorcycle races results in drunkenness, long-winded discussions, and death; two elderly men create false biographies; insurance agents visit an eccentric painter/goat farmer and his mother; guests at a wedding reception remain oblivious to outlying misery; and a working-class boy romances a Roma girl.
Cast
Pavla Maršálková
Mother (segment "Smrt pana Baltazara")
Ferdinand Krůta
Father František (segment "Smrt pana Baltazara"), Gaston's Foreman (segment "Romance")
Alois Vachek
Disabled Man (segment "Smrt pana Baltazara")
Emil Iserle
Uncle (segment "Smrt pana Baltazara")
Miroslav Nohýnek
Lover (segment "Smrt pana Baltazara")
Slávka Španková
Lover (segment "Smrt pana Baltazara")
Bohumil Hrabal
Spectator (segment "Smrt pana Baltazara"), Man by the House (segment "Podvodníci"), Bohumil Hrabal (segment "Automat Svět"), Sleeping Man in a Tram (segment "Romance")
Jiří Menzel
Cyclist (segment "Smrt pana Baltazara")
Miloš Čtrnáctý
Patient, Former Singer (segment "Podvodníci")
František Havel
Patient, Former Journalist (segment "Podvodníci")
Josef Hejl
Barber (segment "Podvodníci")
Jan Vašák
Attendand (segment "Podvodníci")
Jiří Reichl
Young Man with Fracture (segment "Podvodníci")
Josefa Pechlátová
Mother (segment "Dům radosti")
Václav Žák
Painter (segment "Dům radosti")
Ivan Vyskočil
Insurance Agent (segment "Dům radosti")
Antonín Pokorný
Insurance Agent (segment "Dům radosti")
Věra Mrázkova
Bride (segment "Automat Svět")
Vladimír Boudník
Art Designer (segment "Automat Svět")
Alžběta Laštovková
Barmaid (segment "Automat Svět")
Václav Chochola
Policeman (segment "Automat Svět")
Jan Vala
Handsome Man (segment "Automat Svět")
K. Spejzová
Dead Woman (segment "Automat Svět")
Dana Valtová
Margitka, Gipsy (segment "Romance")
Ivan Vyskočil
Gaston Košilka (segment "Romance")
Karel Jeřábek
Guard (segment "Romance")
František Příhoda
Guard (segment "Romance")
Crew
Václav Nývlt
Dramaturgy
Věra Chytilová
Director, Screenplay
Evald Schorm
Director, Screenplay
Jaromil Jireš
Director, Screenplay
Jiří Menzel
Director, Screenplay
Jan Němec
Director, Screenplay
Bohumil Hrabal
Screenplay, Book
Jiřina Lukešová
Editor
Miroslav Hájek
Editor
Eva Horázná
Assistant Editor
Jitka Šulcová
Assistant Editor
Jaroslav Kučera
Director of Photography
Květa Ondráková
First Assistant Director
Zdenka Petřková
Assistant Director
Bohumil Šmída
Executive Producer
Oldřich Bosák
Production Design
Miroslav Ondříček
Camera Operator
Vladimír Zajíc
Assistant Camera
Jiří Štíbr
Assistant Camera
Marta Bártová
Costume Design
Dagmar Krausová
Costumer
František Novotný
Makeup & Hair
Václav Kliegel
Sound Assistant
Blažej Bernard
Sound
Jan Klusák
Original Music Composer
Jiří Šust
Original Music Composer
František Zajíček
Set Decoration
Viktor Fixl
Set Decoration
Jan Vrňata
Set Decoration
Zdenka Karlovská
Script Supervisor
Růžena Nováková
Clapper Loader
Bohumil Nový
Assistant Production Design
František Sandr
Production Manager
Ladislav Fikar
Creative Producer
Karel Kovář
Assistant Production Manager
Luděk Marold
Unit Manager
Ludmila Tikovská
Unit Manager
Věra Winkelhöferová
Unit Manager
